Categotry Archives: knitting

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KNIT RAINBOW BAG

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I’ve always been enamored of net shopping bags, and now I finally have my own!

knit rainbow bag, made by Julianne

For demonstration purposes, it is filled with yarn. What else?

knit rainbow bag, made by Julianne

The bag is perfect over my shoulder, but if I hold it in my hand with my arm down the bag drags on the ground. I knew the bag would stretch, but I still wanted to be able to fit everything in it. Next time!

knit rainbow bag, made by Julianne knit rainbow bag, made by Julianne

I call this jumbled area “the Mojito vortex” and it’s a fond memory of a new friend (who I met via the Internet, and she lives .6 mi from my house). By the way, that gorgeous yellow flower embroidery came out of the trash in New Orleans. It’s one of my favorite things ever.

This pattern was simple and easy to follow, but I was still able to pick up a couple new skills. This was my first time using m1 increases (for the base of the bag), which are easy but I’m not nuts about the holes they create. For future bags I guess I’ll use a different increase. I also got to bind off together when I joined the handle back onto the bag.

knit rainbow bag, made by Julianne

I love the idea of cutting plastic bags into yarn to make a craftier, stronger plastic bag, but I don’t have that much plastic on hand. Eventually I will go full monty with a big ball of plarn, but in the meantime I used Red Heart acrylic for $3, and I loved seeing the colors change.

knit rainbow bag, made by Julianne

Since this is a good project to use up not-so-fancy yarn, and makes a useful gift, I think I will be making many more of these. I’m so new to knitting, and I don’t want to repeat any patterns, so I might make this bag next, with a tape handle like here. Or maybe I will try i-cord for the first time! Does anyone have recommendations for other bag patterns?

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BEEHIVE TURBAN

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As soon as I started knitting, I was most excited about knitting things to wear at Burning Man. I love showcasing my sewing projects on the playa, and it’s great to have a new medium to get creative with. Of course I’m wearing this turban off the playa too!

I’m so pleased and proud of how this hat turned out. It’s actually my fifth hat, and used the smallest needles yet (and therefore had more stitches than any other project).

knit beehive turban, Made by Julianne knit beehive turban, Made by Julianne knit beehive turban, Made by Julianne

knit beehive turban, Made by Julianne

The Striped Beehive Turban was designed by Christine Grant. I’m still new to reading knitting patterns, but hers was easy to follow. I knit the ribbing with 72 stitches, then increased to 84 for the orange and blue bands, and it fits me perfectly. I chose to gather from the radius and covered my awful seaming, and wrapped those stitches in yarn (from the side, it reminds me of an angler fish).

knit beehive turban, Made by Julianne knit beehive turban, Made by Julianne

I picked Sheep-ish yarn for its bright colors and soft feel, plus it was on sale at Joann. The yarn is pretty loosely twisted, so I’d be afraid of pilling if I were to use this yarn for a garment. Also, I kept getting my wonderfully pointy new needles stuck in the yarn. So while I might not buy this yarn again, I think it was a great choice for this project.

knit beehive turban, Made by Julianne

My friend Shing made this clay button as a wedding gift (she also made the rocket pendants on our chandelier). It perfectly matches all the colors, although it didn’t occur to me to pair it with my turban until it was complete.

knit beehive turban, Made by Julianne

I have enough of these yarns to make a second turban, switching the colors around, and I’m thinking about making it inside out, with 4 purled rows and 10 knit rows (the reverse of the pattern). I’ll also modify the pattern to knit in the round, because I kind of like the jogged stripes, in a brushstrokes way [it reveals the technique and the hand of the artist– so glad I have a degree in art history!].

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FIRST KNIT HATS

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I’m pretty pleased with my first ever knitting project. It’s based on this very basic hat, but I wasn’t paying attention, missed a few steps, and decided to just continue with my own design. I’m terrible at following other people’s patterns!

hat knit in the round, Made by Julianne hat knit in the round, Made by Julianne

I used Lion Thick & Quick, in a 80% acryllic 20% wool blend. It was really nice to work with as a first project: the yarn held together well, it was easy to see my stitches, and the thick yarn made this hat a fast project! Plus I do love the color, and it goes very well with all my other yellow hats.

I used #10 bamboo circular needles, and then waited almost a month to sew the side seam! And I did such a horrible job of it! I know that I should learn how to do a decent job at a side seam, but in the meantime I think I’ll stick to knitting in the round.

Since I’d bought two hanks of the yarn, I decided to make a second hat (and I think I have enough left to make a third!). My second hat was knit in the round on the same needles, and I really loved the process. Near the top, I switched to DPN, which was challenging but kinda fun. I’m looking forward to trying out magic loop on my next circular hat!

hat knit in the round, Made by Julianne hat knit in the round, Made by Julianne hat knit in the round, Made by Julianne

For this hat I was able to adhere to the pattern (mostly), but the hat’s too short for my head! I have some crochet needles somewhere, and once I find them I will add a band to the bottom of this hat… or maybe give it as a gift? To a child? In the meantime I’ve been wearing it in my apartment, because it’s been freezing in Los Angeles!

I’ve wanted to knit for years, but never gave myself the time and space to concentrate on it. There were a few aborted attempts that didn’t break my spirit, but let me know that I wasn’t ready yet. One morning I woke up, spent a few minutes on Knitting Help, and spent the rest of the day gleefully knitting swatch after swatch.

Based on all the handwork I do, I knew that I could knit. And it’s pretty easy, and I’m really excited about it. I’m already working on my fourth hat, on #4 needles, with stripes, and ribbing, and I can’t wait!

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